The historical development of thermometry and thermal imaging in medicine.

Human body temperature has been an important part of medicine since very early times. However, until the thermometer was developed in the 16th century measurement was not possible. Some 200 years later, Wunderlich laid the foundation for clinical thermometry, and temperature charts became commonplace throughout the world. More recently thermal imaging has broadened the understanding of body surface temperature in health and disease. Standards for computer-assisted infrared imaging are well developed, and present-day fast high-resolution imaging is less expensive and more reliable than it was 40 years ago.

Teletermografia: principíos físicos, fisiológicos da produçäo da imagem e suas indicaçöes na clínica de dor e reabilitaçäo / Telethermography: physical, physiological and physiopathological prnciples of image production and uor indications in pain and rehabilitation clinical

Este artigo faz uma revisäo bibliográfica da história e faz uma atualizaçäo sobre a teletermografia, suas bases físicas, fisiológicas e fisiopatológicas. Também dá uma visäo sobre as indicaçöes desse exame na clínica de dor e medicina de reabilitaçäo.

Social process and the assessment of a new imaging technique.

Each group involved in the development of a new medical technology constantly assesses the value of the emergent technique in terms of the group's own specific goals and conventions. The history of infrared thermography demonstrates the social nature of this assessment process.

Quantitative thermal imaging.

The association between temperature and disease is centuries old. Clinical thermology was established by Wunderlich, in 1851, who systemically recorded oral temperature with one of the first thermometers capable of reproducible measurement. Thermal imaging is highly developed with contemporary infrared imaging systems having thermal and spatial resolution far in excess of the earlier systems of the 1960s. Real time imaging, together with efficient on-line processing, has greatly improved the ease of use and quality of information. Microwave energy also forms a (smaller) part of the body's natural reactive heat loss. Research into natural microwave detection has shown that 3 GHz and 212 GHz energy can be measured. At the former wavelength a deeper source of thermal energy is measured; the actual depth varies with the characteristics of the superficial tissues, but may be up to several centimetres below the skin. The technology is a long way behind that of infrared systems, but nevertheless microwave thermography has an interesting future.

The noninvasive laboratory: history and future of thermography.

A brief history of thermography and recent developments in instrumentation have been reviewed. Important applications are related to thrombophlebitis, the cerebral circulation, peripheral arterial abnormalities and medical-legal situations.